First Impressions
by NorwegianWood23
Summary: The story of how Leonard and Gaila first met, and the way the night ended.


The music in the bar was loud, the dance floor was packed with young bodies writhing and grinding in time to the beat, and the lights were down low.

It was exactly the kind of bar that Leonard hated.

He was holed up in a booth in the corner, partially hidden from everyone by the bar, glass of bourbon in hand as he sipped and watched his classmates practically fuck on the dance floor. He scowled at anyone who dared come near his booth, effectively turning away a few very pretty, very scantily dressed women who seemed to find his solitude attractive. Leonard never really did understand what women saw in him, even when he was being a grade A asshole.

Just as he was preparing to leave, his booth was filled with a lean, muscled male body, followed by a giggling green woman. Leonard simply raised an eyebrow and stared at his new companions.

"Can I help you, Jim?" he growled, finishing off his drink.

"Bones!" Jim shouted gleefully over the music. He leaned into Leonard's personal space, and Leonard could see just how unfocused his gaze was, and how pink his cheeks had gotten. He groaned inwardly, knowing that a drunk Jim was a grabby Jim, and a grabby Jim meant the walk back to their dorm was going to be annoying and difficult.

"Bones, Bones, Bones!" Jim slurred, reaching out to grab Leonard's arm. "Bones, I want you to meet my friend! Gaila! This is Gaila!" Jim motioned to the green woman sitting next to him, who'd taken to running her hand up and down Jim's thigh.

"Bones?" she asked, head tilting to the side so that her bright red curls fell across one shoulder, her expression quizzical even as her coral painted lips turned up in a smile.

"My name's Leonard McCoy," he replied, leaning around Jim to extend a hand to the woman. She giggled a little and took it, her fingers light and delicate in comparison to Leonard's rough hands.

"He's m'doctor friend I was telling you about!" Jim chirped, leaning into Gaila's personal space and flashing her his trademark flirtatious grin.

"Really now?" Gaila asked, interest clearly piqued. She leaned over Jim, exposing more of her already ample amounts of cleavage.

"I am. And I was just about to leave," Leonard replied, suddenly incredibly fed up with the bar and it's too loud music, and too many young people grinding on each other, and its shitty alcohol.

"Awww, but Bones!" Jim pouted, lower lip poking out. "Don't you wanna stay and dance with Gaila and me?"

"As lovely as Miss Gaila seems, I'm not really in the mood to dance tonight, Jim. I'm leaving. Call a cab when you're ready to go, okay? I'd rather not have to come and bail your ass out of jail again."

Jim pouted for a second more, before shrugging and turning to Gaila, clearly intent on getting her out on the dance floor. Or maybe out back behind the building. Leonard wasn't really sure which it was, and didn't particularly care to stick around to find out.

Gaila, however, seemed to have other ideas.

"Why don't you come back to my place?" she purred, standing up and sliding over to Leonard. He raised an eyebrow, surprised by her audacity.

"And why exactly should I do that? I'm not exactly that kind of fella, no matter what Jim's told you."

Gaila's smile widened, and she slipped an arm in his, motioning to Jim to join them.

"My place is quieter, and I have better alcohol." She winked, tugging him towards the door.

"Please?"

Leonard studied her for a moment, her lower lip poking out slightly in a pout, blue eyes twinkling mischievously. Jim was behind her, grinning and giving Leonard the thumbs up.

It seemed Jim wanted him to get laid tonight.

Sighing, he relented, knowing that between the two, he wasn't going to have much of a choice.

"Fine," he grumbled. Gaila squealed happily and tugged him towards the door again, pointing him in the direction of the nearby apartments that were within walking distance. She and Jim chatted the entire way, her arm still firmly looped with Leonard's. He mostly ignored them, wondering how in the hell he was so easy to manipulate these days.

Gaila's apartment turned out to be an almost exact replica of what Leonard imagined a stereotypical bachelor pad looked like; sparse, neutral furniture, large TV and stereo system, bottles of alcohol stocked randomly throughout the house, and porn scattered here and there. The only indication that it belonged to someone of the female persuasion were the dozens of high heels and clothes littering the living room floor.

"Sorry about the mess," she chirped, letting them in and immediately kicking the bright red heels she'd been wearing off. "Haven't felt like picking up in quite a while."

"So I see," Leonard murmured, watching as Jim made himself comfortable on the couch, picking up a porn magazine and flipping through it. Rolling his eyes, Leonard followed Gaila to the kitchen.

"What's your poison?" she asked, opening the cabinet and pulling a glass out.

"Bourbon, if you have it," he replied. Grinning, Gaila opened a different cabinet and pointed to a shelf.

"Take your pick."

Leonard was beginning to like this woman.

* * *

><p>Three hours later, and Leonard was reconsidering his decision to come to Gaila's apartment.<p>

What had started as just a few drinks as they chatted and got to know each other, Jim whining about there being a severe lack of people wanting to fuck him in the room, had quickly dissolved into drinking games, which had resulted in Jim passing out on the floor, Leonard getting a mild buzz (he always was good at avoiding getting shitfaced during these kinds of things), and Gaila turning into a giggling, stumbling mess.

She was currently pressed against Leonard's side, running her hands through his hair as she whispered in his ear, breath hot and heavy with the scent of alcohol.

"Jimmy was righ' about you," she purred, dragging one hand clumsily down to his neck, pressing a kiss to his temple. "You're really hot. 'S a shame you're celibate."

Leonard scowled at that remark.

"Celibate? What in seven hells has Jim been tellin' you about me, sugar?"

Gaila giggled, ruffling his hair some.

"You're adorable when you're angry."

"Uh huh. Seriously, what the fuck has Jim been tellin' you about me?"

"He juss said you're not fuckin' anyone cuz of your bitch ex wife."

Leonard scowled even harder at that, which caused Gaila to giggle some more and smooth her fingers over his eyebrows.

"Whassamatter?"

"Nothing," Leonard lied, mood quickly taking a nose dive.

"Did I say something-" Gaila stopped mid-sentence, eyes widening and face turning a slight copper color.

"Gaila? You okay?"

"I'm gonna be sick," she mumbled, pulling away and lurching to her feet, hand over her mouth as she stumbled for the bathroom. Groaning, Leonard got up and ran after her, determined to make sure she didn't pass out over the toilet or hurt herself on the way.

He walked into the bathroom to find her hunched over the toilet, long green legs splayed behind her, fingers clutching the rim of the porcelain, her long red hair hanging in her face.

Leonard quickly pulled her hair back, rubbing her back soothingly as she continued to retch, emptying her stomach of that day's contents.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered when she was finished, settling back on her heels and watching as Leonard flushed the toilet for her.

"You're fine, darlin'," he murmured, opening a nearby cabinet in search of a washcloth. Finding one, he wet it down, then filled the cup sitting on the sink with water, before kneeling down in front of her and gently wiping her mouth off before handing her the cup to drink from.

She slowly sipped the water, pausing when her stomach gurgled.

"I'm gonna get you some aspirin, then you're going to bed, okay hon?"

"'M fine," she mumbled, taking another sip.

"Uh huh. But it's still three in the morning, and I'm exhausted. So you're going to bed as well."

Leaving her where she was, Leonard went to the kitchen in search of the pills. Finding them, he came back and coaxed her into taking a few, and finishing off the glass of water.

"Want to brush your teeth?" he asked as he helped her up. "I know the taste of vomit isn't exactly a pleasant one to go to bed with."

Gaila shook her head, blanching a little.

"I think I might vomit again if I do."

"All right then. Let's get you to bed."

Carefully, Leonard guided Gaila to her bedroom, helping her down on the bed.

"Where's my pajamas?" she asked, glancing down at the clothes she'd worn to the bar; a deep, v-necked halter top, and a pair of short, black shorts.

"I don't know, sweetheart. You can just sleep in this though, okay?"

"Okay." Sighing, she rolled over onto her side, tucking her arms up under her, and pulling her legs up so she was curled up in a small, green ball. Sighing, Leonard pulled the covers over her and propped a small trash can beside her head, just in case she woke up again and had to vomit.

Once that was taken care of, he shut off the light and pulled her door shut, before going to set up for the night on the couch.

He always did manage to end up taking care of everyone upon first meeting them, one way or another.


End file.
